Bing, council to keep salaries, benefits under Orr – for now

At least for the time being, the salaries and benefits of Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and members of the Detroit City Council won't be eliminated.

Kevyn Orr, the city's new emergency manager who started Monday, signed an executive order last night maintaining the elected officials' salaries and benefits that otherwise would have been eliminated under Public Act 436 of 2012, the state's new emergency manager law that takes effect Thursday.

"Detroiters need their elected representatives on the job and working collaboratively toward the solutions that will solve our immediate financial crisis and position the city to grow and thrive," Orr said in a news release. "I wanted the first order issued to reaffirm how important the mayor and City Council members are to Detroit's turnaround."

Bing currently makes $158,559, while City Council members earn $73,181. Council President Charles Pugh makes $76,911, according to the Detroit city clerk's office.

Orr, a 54-year-old former Washington, D.C., bankruptcy attorney, was appointed March 14 by the Local Emergency Financial Assistance Loan Board.